Endless Winter
ENDLESS WINTER
With my training as an HST and my home hunt in full swing, I could now dedicate some time to myself. The first few months of the year were meant to serve as something of a reset for my life – or at least that was the plan.
During BST 2, the balance I’d managed to cultivate over the previous couple of years had grown somewhat stale. Medicine had left me feeling burnt out, I had travel fatigue from going abroad way too often, and I felt uninspired at best. Somehow, the very same things that had once made me feel most alive had stopped bringing me the same joy. I couldn’t quite pin when exactly this change had happened, but happen it did and now I needed to find a new equilibrium once again.
After Ecuador, I’d set myself a new goal: I’d lock myself away in Malta for a few months. Some time away from travelling would hopefully make me miss it and fall in love with it all over again. It would also give me the chance to focus on medicine as I stepped into my new role, save some money for my new place, and dedicate some time to myself while I figured out what I wanted from the next stage of my life. Plus, I could be there for Momma and Poppa Bear and their new Baby Bear – the most perfect little thing to have ever graced our planet. I swear, she’s absolutely perfect – there’s literally no other adjective to describe her!
I would use that time to discover more of Malta – the country I’d grown to adore. With winter setting in, I’d substitute kayaking, paddleboarding and diving for running, biking and hiking once again. I couldn’t wait to explore all those little corners I’d previously ignored or hadn’t even known existed. Even after living there for most of my life, I was constantly astounded by just how much such a tiny island had to offer.
And so, I was all geared up for a winter spent in Malta. I’d bide my time, slow things down and hopefully emerge from those few months feeling somewhat reinvented.
Weathering Harry
But, as fate would have it, let’s just say this was a tough winter to weather – literally. You see, the universe had something else in store for us – something none of us were quite expecting: Storm Harry.
Between 19 and 21 January 2026, the storm battered Malta and Gozo with gale-force winds, heavy rain, storm surge and powerful waves. Coastal areas took an absolute beating, with damage to roads, infrastructure, farmland and some of the islands’ most familiar seaside spots. Emergency services spent the storm responding to nearly 700 incidents, and the damage was eventually estimated by the Maltese Government at around €128 million. For such a tiny country, it felt like Harry had managed to rattle practically every corner of it.
With the storm wrecking many of my plans – as well as a substantial amount of the island itself – running, biking and hiking weren’t exactly the most appealing options. And the miserable weather didn’t exactly disappear the moment Harry did. As such, much of that winter was spent indoors. When I wasn’t at work, I read and wrote, watched television and napped. Sure, I visited Baby Bear regularly and kept up with social commitments here and there, but in general, I could feel myself withering away. The storms, grey skies and crappy weather became the most appropriate pathetic fallacy I could possibly have asked for.
I was smoking and barely working out. I hadn’t been underwater in months, and outdoor sports seemed like the worst possible idea. I craved bright sunshine and green meadows, running down hills and scrambling up cliffs. I wanted to feel free and exposed and open to all possibilities. Instead, I felt trapped, suffocated and enclosed. I started taking on more extra shifts than ever simply cause I had nothing better to do – other than my home hunt, which itself sometimes made me feel like I was voluntarily signing away my freedom.
Worst of all, it felt like I’d reached an all-time low. And with no travel plans on the horizon, it felt like I had no escape.
The Spring that Sprung
Luckily, as seasons tend to do, one eventually gave way to the next. And that spring? Let’s just say that spring sprung more than others. Like way more.
In what felt like a matter of days, the weather seemed to restore the Malta I’d grown to love. Actually, all that rain and stormy weather seemed to have transformed it into an even nicer version than I could remember. The countryside exploded into colour. Fields turned bright green, wildflowers appeared along the trails, and places that had looked bleak and battered only weeks earlier suddenly seemed ridiculously alive. It was easily one of the lushest, most verdant versions of Malta I could remember seeing, and it more than made up for the preceding months of gloom and rain.
And, needless to say, whatever winter slump I’d fallen into seemed to fade away with the colder months. I felt reborn. I went outside at every possible opportunity. In the span of a few weeks, I explored entire chunks of the island – practically centimetre by centimetre. There was so much to see and do, so many nooks and crannies to discover, so many corners and crevices to explore, that I could barely contain my excitement as I documented every single thing I encountered.
My newly bright and shiny demeanour also pushed me to start working on myself again. Apart from all the hiking and biking I was back to doing, I started working out with more intensity than before. Slowly but surely, I was back to being the muscled-up twunk I’d grown to love and admire. And, most of all, I felt it. I felt happier. Much, much happier.
I also had some pretty big things to look forward to. With a couple of my best friends getting hitched, let’s just say there was plenty of love in the air. Add to that the fact that my self-imposed travel embargo was finally coming to an end, and suddenly it felt like there was nothing but blue sky ahead. Quite literally, this time.